Creators, do you own your likeness? Are you sure? How to avoid the perpetuity trap.

An up-and-coming creator gets offered their first brand deal. It’s enough money to pay their rent, but not nearly enough to hire a lawyer to look over the contract, so they sign it. A few months later, they see their face on a billboard or in a commercial without their consent.

This isn’t a hypothetical, says lawyer Michelle May O’Neil, whom I met at SXSW in Austin, Texas, after her panel, “Who Owns Me? Legal War Over Identity in the Creator Economy.” O’Neil is a nationally recognized lawyer...